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TVA’s unlawful actions come after utility reversed its decision to shutter Kingston coal plant
KINGSTON, Tennessee — On Monday, the Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club, sent a notice of intent to sue to the Tennessee Valley Authority, warning the federal utility that its ongoing construction of a new methane gas plant near the site of its 70-year-old coal plant violates the Clean Air Act.
The Kingston coal plant is one of the utility’s dirtiest, least reliable, and most expensive power plants, as well as the site of a 2008 coal ash spill. In 2024, TVA finalized plans to retire the plant. While the closure was long overdue, TVA proposed to replace the coal plant with a dirty gas plant, which would continue to saddle nearby communities with harmful air pollution. TVA avoided complying with many of the Clean Air Act’s most important protections by promising the switch from coal to gas would not cause a significant increase in pollution, leading the utility to obtain a “minor modification” permit.
